Linda Riley and Phyll Opoku-Gyimah will be speaking at the event in Austria next week

By DIVA staff

Published: 2017.09.29 05:25 AM

DIVA publisher Linda Riley will be giving the keynote speech at the European Lesbian* Conference in Vienna next month.

The event, which takes place 6-8 October, promises to give lesbians* the opportunity to “connect, reflect, act and transform” and increase the visibility and representation of women in LGBT communities throughout Europe.

Linda, who’ll be speaking about her experience as a lesbian in media and her work with organisations including GLAAD, says she’s “delighted” to be taking part. “I’m thrilled to be supporting such an important event and I’m looking forward to meeting all those taking part and sharing my experience,” she told us.

DIVA publisher Linda Riley is giving the keynote at the EL*C in Vienna

Organisers say the EL*C conference is “to create an academic/activist/artistic/literary space, where lesbians* will be able to express themselves without fear of being ignored or discriminated against”.

Describing it as an intersectional and diverse event, the aim is inclusivity, and organisers stress it is open to all who feel an affinity with a lesbian identity – using an asterisk after the word to “encourage a broad range of people to join us”.

“We insist on calling it a ‘lesbian’ conference although we recognise that, as with any category or label, it may be contested and insufficient to describe the diversity of our communities.

“However, using the word ‘lesbian’ is part of the political struggle for visibility, empowerment, and representation. Anyone who considers themselves to have a connection to the word ‘lesbian*’ is invited to come and join us in our dialogues.”

DIVA columnist and UK Black Pride director Phyll Opoku-Gyimah is also speaking at the conference and says she is “looking forward to being in a room full of lesbians who refuse to apologise for who they are”.